John Fox and the Broncos agreed to part ways after four seasons. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)

Former Broncos coach John Fox is traveling Wednesday to Chicago to interview for the Bears’ head coaching position, according to an NFL source.

Fox seemed to become the Bears’ top candidate within hours after the Broncos’ 24-13 second-round playoff loss Sunday to the Indianapolis Colts.

Fox’s connection to the Bears came by way of the New Orleans Saints. The Bears last week hired former Saints’ director of player personnel Ryan Pace to be their new general manager. Pace from the bottom of the Saints’ personnel department where he worked closely in recent years with Sean Payton, New Orleans’ head coach since 2006.

There have been all-time greats and there have been complete busts. But these 10 guys (and, yes, a couple of names you may have seen on the other lists) stand out in Broncos draft history, for reasons better or worse. As compiled by The Denver Post’s Broncos reporters, Mike Klis and Troy E. Renck, here are the top 10 draft surprises in franchise history.

It’s a waste of time ranking the Jay Cutlers and Kyle Ortons of the quarterback world. And apologies to Ben Roethlisberger and Carson Palmer, who had very good years only to barely miss out on the playoffs.
But just as in the NFL, only the playoff-bound passers made the Tuesday Morning Quarterback cut this week. If Andy Dalton is ranked No. 12 of 12, you know this is a deep quarterback field.
The QB rankings entering the playoffs:

A grading curve is needed this week as so many quarterbacks quarterbacks played through snow, cold and blizzards. But there were also enormous stats as it was also the highest scoring week in NFL history with a combined 852 points – 53.25 points per game. We know one quarterback who played well in frigid conditions and he solidified his top ranking.
The QB rankings entering week 14:

Quarterback ……………….. (Last week’s ranking)

1. Peyton Manning, Broncos (1t)
On his way to 5,000+ yards, 50+ TDs and 5th MVP.

2. Tom Brady, Patriots (1t)Played awful for so long Sunday in falling behind 19-3 at home to lowly Cleveland. Wound up with 418 yards and incredibly lucky 27-26 win.

The Broncos will have to give Peyton Manning better protection if he is to go wire-to-wire ranked No. 1 in our poll. Some major moves up the rankings were made by Andy Dalton and Philip Rivers while Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Nick Foles and Jay Cutler plummeted. Romo’s drop wasn’t so much about his performance Sunday (although there were two picks) as he was overrated last week. And poor Matt Barkley. It can’t get any worse. The QB rankings entering week 8:

1. Peyton Manning, Broncos (1 last week)First time this year he played under serious pass-rush duress. Had 5 sacks first 6 games, but four against Colts. Even with passes following the arc of dying quails, he still threw for 3 TDs and league-most 386 yards.

Yeah, Peyton Manning and the Broncos’ offense was off last week. Their 35 points were only the second-highest to St. Louis’ 38. Major moves up the board were made by former Bronco Jay Cutler, Nick Foles, Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger. The tumblers were Andrew Luck, Geno Smith and Terrelle Pryor:

Quarterback ……………….. (Last week’s ranking)
1. Peyton Manning, Broncos (1)Even if he didn’t have his best game against Jags, it would be harsh to knock him down a peg, especially when Brees lost and Rodgers didn’t play his best, either. And I couldn’t put Tony Romo No. 1. Manning has set TD pass record through each game this season but his streak may be about to end. His 22 TD passes through six games broke Tom Brady’s 2007 record of 21. But Brady had 6 TD passes in game 7 of 2007

Tuesday Morning QuarterbackIt’s tough to rate Tom Brady. We know what he’s done. Which is more than any other active quarterback. But you weigh that against what he’s doing now. Which isn’t much. The top two quarterbacks stay the same this week with no one playing at Peyton Manning’s level. But there are massive changes after Drew Brees at No. 2:Quarterback ……………….. (Last week’s ranking)

1. Peyton Manning, Broncos (1)

No coach, no commentator, no player has ever mastered the game of football like this guy is now. His pace through four games last week of 64 touchdown passes seemed silly – except he’s still on pace for 64 TDs through five games.

Quarterbacks are paid to win games. But last weekend, three notable QBs – Matt Schaub, Joe Flacco and Jay Cutler – lost games by throwing the ball to the wrong team. There were four quarterbacks who didn’t start the previous week. And for all the buzz about the talented, young, athletic crop of quarterbacks, look whose 1-2-3:

Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger have a diminished supporting cast and look below average. The supposedly super sophomores are slumping. Five quarterbacks – Jay Cutler, Matt Schaub, Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and EJ Manuel – came through in the final seconds/minutes. There are but two quarterbacks, though, clearly playing above the rest. They rank 1-2 in week 2 of the Tuesday Morning Quarterback rankings:Quarterback ……………………… (Last week’s ranking)
1. Peyton Manning, Broncos (1)None of those athletic young guns have this guy’s discipline, his ability to control the game, his accuracy.

Even with a bye week and a loss in October, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was named AFC offensive player of the month Thursday.

Manning was the obvious choice, having led or tied in October for the conference lead in yards, completion percentage, yards per attempt, touchdowns, passes of 25 yards or longer, and passer rating, according to the league.

Team Denver Post -- Mike Klis, Lindsay Jones and Jeff Legwold -- after Monday Night Football in San Diego last week. Not a bad game on which to go out.

A few months ago, when my parents finally made me move several bins of my childhood belongings out of their home near Ft. Collins, I discovered original copies of The Denver Post sports section, dated Jan. 26 and Jan. 27, 1998 — the days immediately following the Broncos’ first Super Bowl championship.

I was 16 years old and a writer on my high school newspaper when I saved those papers. (The next year, I would write my first Broncos’ article — a story about a group of boys at my high school who formed their own club that met every Monday morning to break down Broncos’ games. Pulitzer-worthy stuff, I’m sure.)

Discovering those newspapers this summer was a reminder that I was, indeed, living a dream. If you would have told 16 year old me that I would, just 15 years later, be working for that very newspaper, alongside several of the writers whose bylines graced those pages, I certainly would not have believed you.

Champ Bailey has respect for Philip Rivers, Quarterback of the San Diego Chargers. Eric Lutzens, The Denver Post

It used to be, no one opposing player was despised in the Broncos locker room more than San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers.

Broncos players thought Rivers talked too much junk as he helped the Chargers dominate the AFC West. It didn’t hurt that there was also a genuine mutual dislike between Rivers and former Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler.

Cornerback Champ Bailey said he still doesn’t like Rivers on the two days a year in which the two teams play, but now the quarterback has earned respect of the top defensive players in the division.

“The thing was, back then, he was talking when he shouldn’t have,” Bailey said. “I think he hadn’t earned his respect around the league at that point. But now, it’s a different story.”

Bailey has gotten to know Rivers when both have been members of the AFC Pro Bowl squad, and has noticed that Rivers has backed up his big mouth with his big arm. Rivers has led the Chargers to wins against six different Denver defensive coordinators dating back to 2006. Denver split its two games against the Chargers in 2011.

Rivers might be just as feisty as ever, Bailey said, but it doesn’t bother him as much.

“It’s just kind of funny to me. He doesn’t get under my skin,” Bailey said. “I think he still affects a lot of people by that. But you can’t really listen to him too much because he just loves to talk.”

Matt Prater got cursed out by Jay Cutler after missing a second field goal against the Raiders in 2008. Then he nearly got cut by Mike Shanahan.

When the Broncos signed kicker Matt Prater to a new four-year, $13 million deal Monday, it was a testament to how far Prater has come in the NFL.

After all, he had been released by three different teams — Lions, Dolphins and Falcons — before he even arrived in Denver late in the 2007 season and there was a moment in the 2008 season when then-head coach Mike Shanahan was talking about bringing in a replacement if Prater missed any more gameday kicks.

That matchup will kick off at 2 p.m. Aug. 26 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The game will be nationally televised on Fox. No doubt, Fox believes there will be early interest in Peyton Manning, a 14-year quarterback with the Indianapolis Colts who signed with the Broncos as a free agent two weeks ago.

The Broncos will open their preseason at Chicago, where they will meet Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Jeremy Bates some time in the range of Aug. 9-13. That game will be dubbed: Manning vs. Take That Jay Cutler.

Clinton Portis celebrates with a world heavyweight belt given to him by Shannon Sharpe after Portis scored five of the team's six TDs against the Chiefs on Dec. 7, 2003.

When Peyton Manning signs with Denver, he will immediately became the most significant free-agent catch in Broncos history. Here are the 10 biggest personnel moves in Broncos history prior to landing Manning.

1. Trade: In 1983, the Broncos changed the course of the team’s history when they sent guard Chris Hinton, quarterback Mark Herrmann and a first-round pick in the 1984 draft to the Colts for the rights to Stanford quarterback John Elway. The Colts eventually used that ’84 pick on guard Ron Solt, who played nine seasons in the league, a nice career. But three nice careers do not add up to one all-time great and two Super Bowl titles.

Mike Klis has been with The Denver Post since 1998, after working 13 years with the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. Major League Baseball was Klis' initial passion. He started covering the Colorado Rockies after Coors Field was approved for construction in August 1990.

Nicki Jhabvala is the Sports Digital News Editor for The Denver Post. Before arriving in Denver, she spent five years at Sports Illustrated working primarily as its online NBA editor, and she was most recently the overnight home page editor at the New York Times. She has reported regularly on the Broncos since joining the staff.

A published author and award-winning journalist, Benjamin Hochman is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. He previously worked on the staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winners of two Pulitzer Prizes for their Hurricane Katrina coverage.